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With the trade season quickly descending upon us and the corresponding Chicago Cubs rumors we love to (obsessively) follow, it seems a perfectly fair time to discuss the man pulling the strings behind those potential moves; the man responsible for this iteration of the Cubs, and the eight and a half that preceded it: Jim Hendry.

I’ve made no secret of my frustration with a number of Hendry’s decisions in his time as General Manager of the Cubs. I have no doubt that he’s a good guy who means well and tries hard. But I do have doubt that he’s the right guy to be leading this organization into the second half of 2011, and beyond.

So, in the interest of sparking discussion (and showing my hacky-gimmick chops), I’ve drafted the Complete Dictionary of Reasons to Fire Jim Hendry. Below, you’ll find 26 of the most compelling reasons to let Jim Hendry go as the GM of the Cubs, one for each letter from A to Z. I hope that it’s as painful to read as it was to write.

I should note that this is not to say that Hendry absolutely should be fired mind you (although I’m coming around to the idea, particularly after putting together this list). The list simply identifies the primary reasons to fire Jim Hendry should you already be disposed to such an outcome. I’m sure someone could create a list of reasons to retain Hendry, though I suspect that the list would be neither as long nor as compelling as the one below.

The Dictionary of Reasons to Fire Jim Hendry

A – The Advantage. The Chicago Cubs under Jim Hendry underachieved almost every year, despite holding a profound payroll advantage over not only their Central Division foes, but most of the National League. Failing to win it all is excusable. Failing to meet expectations more seasons than not, however, is not. This reason comes first not only because it is the letter “A,” but also because it is reason enough – even without the remaining 25 – to give Hendry his walking papers.

B – Bradley, Milton Bradley. No team was willing to offer Milton Bradley more than two years, and Hendry gave Bradley three (paying handsomely and eschewing better options – Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, and Bobby Abreu, to name a few – in the process). One predictably volatile season later, the Cubs were desperate to dump Bradley.

C – Chad Fox. Poor Chad Fox. Not only did a comeback led by Hendry not work out for Fox (twice), but the Cubs destroyed his arm (twice). Tongue is in cheek on this one, by the way.

D – Dusty Baker. I didn’t like the hiring then, and it doesn’t look any better in hindsight. Jim Hendry paid top dollar for the privilege of watching the team win in spite of Baker (when they won at all, that is).

E – Every Season Has Its Excuse. The bullpen was too young. The lineup was too right-handed. The players weren’t athletic enough. The team lacked chemistry in the clubhouse. After every failed season, Jim Hendry had an explanation for why the team he’d assembled failed to achieve. And then, after “fixing” that problem the following year, there was only another explanation for failure. Do it two or three times, and it’s an explanation. Five, six, seven times is an excuse.

F – No Fear. A frequently-suggested reason for keeping Jim Hendry is the fear that, if Hendry is given the boot, Scouting Director Tim Wilken and Minor League Director Oneri Fleita will follow him out the door. These fears, I now believe, are absurd. For one thing, Wilken’s draft picks haven’t been sparkling, despite his reputation, and Fleita has run the minor league system for a decade with relatively little success in development to show for it. For another thing, if the next GM wants them to stay, there is no reason to assume without evidence that they’d just follow Hendry out the door because of loyalty. These jobs are hard to come by, and unless someone is banging on Hendry’s door to hire him as a GM, it’s not like Wilken and Fleita would have anywhere to follow Hendry anyway.

G – The Garza Trade. Before you jump down my throat, let me be clear about a couple things: I’m very happy the Cubs have Matt Garza. I even think the trade itself was fair. The criticism of Hendry here comes on the fact that he made the move at all. Acquiring a front-two starting pitcher by trading away half of the team’s top ten prospects is the move of a team on the cusp of competing (at least in the next year or two). The Cubs, at present, are not that team.

H – Hating on Trade Candidates. Why in the world would you bad mouth so vociferously guys like Milton Bradley and Sammy Sosa before trying to trade them? Sure, the market wasn’t going to be particularly bright for either one, but telling the world that the guys are bums whom you’ve absolutely got to dump isn’t going to drive up the market.

I – Intentional Walks. Jim Hendry let Ryne Sandberg walk away from the organization without so much as a phone call. There are ways to defend the way the Sandberg mess went down – indeed, I’ve offered some of them – but, should things continue to go South, it was Jim Hendry’s decision to let Sandberg leave. By the same token, and far more frustratingly, Hendry let Joe Girardi walk away from any kind of meaningful interview before hiring (and paying through the nose for) Lou Piniella five years ago. Girardi, for all his lack of experience, went on to manage some team in New York.

J – Juan Pierre. After the 2005 season, Jim Hendry became singularly convinced that the Cubs simply had to have a traditional leadoff hitter. Three promising pitching prospects later (one of whom is Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco), Hendry had his man: the profoundly overrated Juan Pierre. Of course, Hendry had Pierre for just one season, as Pierre was a free agent after 2006 – a season that saw the Cubs finish in last place, 30 games under .500. Also, come on, look at the guy. Anyone who thought that particular mustache was a good idea is not worth pinning your your hopes to.

K – Koyie Hill. Hill’s making almost $1 million when he should probably be making $8.75 an hour in a wood shop somewhere. And that should have happened two years ago.

L – Lame Duck. Assuming the Cubs continue to fall out of contention, trades are coming that are designed to build for the future. Do you want a lame duck making those trades? Or do you want the guy who’s going to be the GM next year making the deals that will set the team up for next year?

M – Middle Reliever Fever. Jim Hendry loves him some veteran middle relievers. And, for that reason, he had no problem paying big money for guys like Scott Eyre, Bob Howry, Mark Guthrie, Mike Remlinger, and LaTroy Hawkins (sorry, he was not a closer). By the end of those deals, there was not a single one that looked like a good signing.

N – No Trade Clauses. The “Jim Hendry Special,” in certain circles, the no-trade clause, when combined with a long, escalating contract, can really cripple a team. Sometimes, a no-trade clause is needed to seal the deal. I get that. But when you’re already giving a player an above-market contract? A good GM knows that preserving the ability to dump a guy is as valuable to the team as the right to veto a trade is to a player. Fight for it. You cannot tell me that Jeff Samardzija absolutely would not have taken his $10 million contract without a no-trade clause.

O – “Obviously.” Jim Hendry applies the word obviously as generously as he applies Nutella to everything he eats. But things must not be as obvious as he regularly suspects them to be, otherwise the Cubs would have been a whole lot better under his watch. Obviously.

P – The Playoff Problem. Since the 2003 NLCS disaster, the Chicago Cubs have not won a playoff series. Indeed, they haven’t won a single playoff GAME. Do results not matter anymore?

Q – Mike Quade. This may prove premature, and I’m certainly not advocating firing Mike Quade. But, for whatever reason, Jim Hendry decided to tie his future to a guy with no big league managerial experience other than a meaningless month and a half in charge of a team with nothing to play for. The choice made some sense when it was made, but if you had a cocked eyebrow, no one would have blamed you. Now they really wouldn’t blame you. And Jim Hendry bears the responsibility for the decision.

R – Bad Returns. In general, Jim Hendry as a trader was never a terrible guy. The deals in which he acquired Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez (and Kenny Lofton), Rich Harden, and Nomar Garciaparra were all solid. But when it comes to the other side of the trading equation – the dumping side – Hendry never did quite as well. It’s early, but the returns on the Tom Gorzelanny, Ted Lilly, and Derrek Lee dumpers is looking less than good. Greg Maddux for Cesar Izturis didn’t turn out too well, either.

S – Salary Deferments. Backloaded contracts are not unique to Jim Hendry’s tenure or to the Chicago Cubs, and, done properly, they can really help a club out. But, under Hendry, the Cubs made backloading an art form. The rapidly escalating contracts given to guys like Milton Bradley, Jason Marquis, and Marlon Byrd, for example, helped jack up the team’s payroll far beyond those player’s useful years. The Cubs will be paying Carlos Pena $5 million next year, presumably, to play somewhere else.

T – Too Many Years. When signing free agents, Hendry seems to have a penchant for tacking on just one or two more years than you’d like to see. Three years for Milton Bradley and Jason Marquis? Four years for Kosuke Fukudome? Eight years for Alfonso Soriano? (I know it has been reported that the Soriano deal was increased to eight years from seven without Hendry’s involvement, but hey, would seven years really have been much better?)

U – The Unseen Hand. At times, Jim Hendry does not seem to have a great sense of the going rate for his own players, to say nothing of their desirability. That’s why he has been guilty of repeatedly overpaying to re-sign guys who shouldn’t have been re-signed in the first place (e.g., John Grabow, Glendon Rusch, “Sweaty” Joe Borowski, Neifi Perez, etc.).

V – Veteran, Replacement-Level Players. Hendry has always had a special place in his heart for replacement-level veterans, whom he could sign to over-market deals. You know the type: Jose Macias, Paul Bako, and (oh dear God no, the horror) Aaron Miles. The deals were always excused as, “hey, it’s just a couple million bucks,” or, “it’s just the 25th man,” or “it’s just the back-up catcher.” These deals matter, and Hendry has some stinkers in spades.

W – It Gets Wuertz. Hendry dumped Michael Wuertz for no reason and no return before the 2009 season. Wuertz went on to post a 2.63 ERA and a 0.953 WHIP that year for the A’s. The two “prospects” the Cubs received in return were out of the organization/out of baseball within six months.

X – The James Russell X-periment. You just know that when you get to the “X” in these things, the writer is going to use some bs word that doesn’t actually start with an “X.” Sorry. Guilty. To the point, when the Cubs announced that James Russell would be tried out as a starter in Spring Training in 2011, it was universally met with surprise and derision. And then, when Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner went down with injuries the first week of the season, Russell was actually moved into the rotation. Four (FOUR!) miserable Russell starts later, the Cubs finally managed to insert an actual starter into the rotation. I recognize it’s tough to replace two starting pitchers in one week, but to not have another option available and selected by the time Russell had started four (FOUR!) times is inexcusable.

Y – Yoot? What is a Yoot? The organization, while paying lip service to the necessity of youth over the past decade, has never really committed to getting younger. Sure, there’s a prospect here and there, but the core of the team always seems to be on the north side of the most productive years (26 to 28).

Z – Big (Money) Z. It’s tough to end on this one – damn you, alphabet gods – because I like Big Z. But a savvier GM probably would have recognized that, despite Zambrano’s relative youth, his best days were behind him when Hendry handed Zambrano a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension in late 2007. There was a time when the Cubs could have received a king’s ransom in return for Zambrano. Instead, Jim Hendry handed the king’s ransom to Zambrano.

Great article! I disagree with “I” though. Sandberg chose to leave. Minor league managers always have one of the following things happen after their season is over. They advance to the next level, they keep their current position, they move laterally in the system, they choose to leave the organization or they are fired. Sandberg was more than welcome to stay at Iowa. He chose to walk away.

Ace

Thanks, and I hear you. And I’m not in the business of excuses, but… let me just say that the “I” was the last one I wrote. Took me quite a while to come up with.

jstraw

Sandberg deserved an interview. Brenly deserved an interview (and I believe Brenly diplomatically took himself out of consideration when little birds let he know he wasn’t under consideration). Sometimes you just give the interview to give the interview. Sandberg deserved to avoid any “Hey, not even the Cubs will consider him for a big league gig. What does that tell ya?” talk

Ace

Probably true. The whole thing, while a difficult situation, just felt icky.

MichiganGoat

As for “Q” I am ready to fire him… its obvious that he cannot be successful and I think a double fire of Hendry and Quade would be met with great praise by Cub nation. It would make this Rickett’s team and show everyone that he is willing to put the right team together to create success. Of course this all is assuming that Ricketts will hire the right baseball people to help him make the right moves. I really, really hope that the wheels are in motion behind close doors so that when this action is taken we will all be impressed with the new president or director or GM. I think the right move may be to fire them and announce a new President or Director to be the interim GM as the GM search is made (of course that search should already be in the works). As for a new coach put Rudy in charge (we’re paying him enough), “a log with a hat,” or maybe a player-manager… it doesn’t really matter at this point allow the new GM to look for the right manager for next year.

If we have the same “leaders” in 2012 we may be like this for another 10 years, since I can see Hendry giving Albert or Prince a very “Hendry” contract… like 12 years $350mil with no-trade.

Ace

I agree that, if a GM change is made, that GM should have the right to bring in his guy to manage. If it’s not Quade, then so be it.

Cheryl

Could the Ricketts be looking for an interim or permanent GM? If they want to run a successful baseball venture, they should be. (Good list, Ace.)

Jeff

Great list, some of this stuff is real eye opening when you look at his total history.

I know it was a bad deal, but I still think Juan Pierre could have been a good fit. If Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Derek Lee didn’t all miss most of the season, that team would have been completely different. The idea that just bringing in Pierre was good enough when they had to count on guys like Glendon Rusch, Matt Murton, Jacque Jones, Phil Nevin, and Tony Womack to play major roles was terribly misplaced. Despite that, Pierre had a very good season, and in a normal, productive offense, the move would have made sense. Tell me that no one would take his numbers from 2006 on this team.

Ace

Raises hand. .330 OBP from a leadoff man *sucks.* A .388 SLG from anyone *sucks.* An 82 OPS+ means he was 18% worse than the average player offensively (which *sucks*). He stole 58 bases, but was thrown out a league-leading 20 times (a ratio that *sucks*). Combine that with his terrible routes in the outfield and his noodle arm, and you’ve got a guy that all around *sucked.* Sorry, Jeff, we disagree on this one.

Jeoy

“The idea that just bringing in Pierre was good enough when they had to count on guys like… Jacque Jones… to play major roles was terribly misplaced”

Jones was not only better at the plate, but also a drastically better bang-for-buck value. See, thats the thing with Pierre – he ***sucks*** at the game of baseball. He can steal bases but has an inability to hit for Xtras or steal at a productive rate (or react in a timely manor when the pitcher throws to first) which completely negates the value of his speed. At that point you’re left with a limp-armed, limp-sticked, “single to the shortstop” player with no real value to anyone other then his now infamous name-recognition.

Then you have to ask – would not making the Pierre move also mean we would have never made the Garza deal? Would we have stayed clear of the Grabow contract? Would we have never seen Samardzija, or Berg, or Russell, or Mateo, or etc blowing ML games for us the last two+ years?

I would have much, much, much rather have given his PA to similarly productive (but much more versatile) Freddie Bynum, saved nearly 6 Mil and kept our three ML-Quality pitching prospects…)

Raymond Robert Koenig

Rumor has it that the Cubs are 1 of 3 teams talking with Millwood’s agent.

Jeff

Peter Gammons says the Red Sox are looking closely since the situation with Dice K and the way Lackey has been pitching, they could probably use an old veteran more than the Cubs.

jstraw

Ace, you just said some mean things about a bunch of people with nothing better to do with their time than Google their own names.

Ace

That is a sobering thought. I’m just glad I didn’t mention Fernando Perez…

…aw, crap.

http://twitter.com/thomaswconroy TWC

Ah, the ignominy and attendant suffering of a failed career with the Chicago Cubs. How we never forget. Or forgive. So it goes with the objects of our attention.

Yeah, Ace. I said “attendant”.

Ace

I will ignominize your face.

miggy80

Funny thing about that whole Fernando Perz episode. You provided a link to an espn article that talked about Fernando writing ability. I bought the spring 2010 issue of the Southern Review, which is dedicated to baseball and also has an esay from Doug Glanville along with Perz and a great story of a beer vender at Wrigley the day Darrel Kyle died, and after a game in Des Moines I was able to get Fernando to autograph my book. I told him about an open mic poetry night that was after a day game and before a night game and he actually stopped out and said hello. Thought I would share that story Fernando was very cool and I hope that his baseball carrer works out.

Ace

Good story. I have no doubt that he’s a great guy.

TBO

there needs to be an addendum

hendry wasted 2 high draft picks, including the 3rd overall pick on high school guys from his own high school. Both Ryan Harvey and Brian Dopirak went to Dunedin high school in florida. Hendry’s alma mater

Ace

Not to mention his affinity for Domers.

Jeoy

I agree with TBO, and feel “P” may have been better off as “Projectability”

Ace

Yeah… but, like, playoffs, man. How could I not do playoffs?

Joey

Yeah, but how can you miss “Projectable” completely? It’s been like the backbone (and bane) of our system the entire time he’s been here.

Besides, “Faceplant” would have worked fine for the playoffs portion 😉

…oh, or “We just needed…” would have worked too as I think it might be the single most repeated line after each and every playoff series we stumbled into (and always led to the inevitable disastrous reactionary move during the offseason)

jstraw

Oh…and no one in their right mind would let Hill anywhere near a wood shop.

Ace

Yeah, that was the joke.

http://twitter.com/thomaswconroy TWC

And a subtle one it was, too, but funny.

‘Course, I LIVE for Koyie Hill jokes.

jstraw

I didn’t think that was an accidental reference.

Ace

Your butt is an accidental reference.

jstraw

I’m butt-hurt.

auggie1955

Winston Churchill once said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” This quote perfectly describes Jim Hendry. His deals usually are one failure after another, and yet he never loses his enthusiasm. Following this definition of success, Hendry just may be the most successful GM in the history of MLB.

Ace

Winston knows his shit.

wax_eagle

Great list there Ace. The only thing that is glaringly missing is Hendry’s over reliance on scouting in the face of statistical evidence, Ill just give you my vowels (A for Advanced Statistics, which are to often ignored, E for Economic Theory, which seems to be lacking, I for Ignorance of anything but that which can be seen with the eyes, O for Obviously missing what so many other teams have figured out, and U for unchangeable in the face of a quickly shifting league)

Ace

Yeah, definitely a scouting guy.

Raymond Robert Koenig

And sometimes “Y”. “Y” for the various number of “Y”ears we’ve all spent following the Cubs, hoping for what Cub fans deserve more than any other fans in baseball. A World Series Champion.

Ace

D is for depressing.

hill really sucks

How is Koyie HIll playing pro baseball? baffling…

Jeff

How about International Scouting for “I”? I have been hearing about how much money the Cubs have been sinking into international scouting (specifically the Asian scouting) since Hendry and McFAIL took over, yet all there is to show for it is Kosuke Fukudome. I think there has been quite a bit of money spent on this, with very little to show for the effort aside from a few prospects and a lot of signing bonus money. I like that they are spending money on scouting, but it doesn’t seem like it’s working out. They all show great promise, then go bust like any other Cubs prospect.

Ace

Well, technically they have Derrek Lee to show for it (Hee Seop Choi), and about 1/3 of Matt Garza (Hak-Ju Lee). They’ve also got some very nice young prospects. Damnit, Jeff, stop making me defend Hendry!

Jeff

They also have 2 or 3 pitchers that needed Tommy John surgery before they turned 20, so you don’t have to defend him that ardently. I’m harping on his success rate, which is not good. Regardless of what he got in return for them, they haven’t panned out in the majors yet.

pfk

Great post! Maybe the best yet. Now, I challenge Hendry backers to give 26 reasons for him NOT to be fired. In fact, Ricketts is the one who should write it, because then he will realize that he can’t get past 3 and that Hendry must go. And, on his way out, take Uncle Crane with him.

Ace

Thanks, pfk.

awesome

Ace, agree 100%. as for “I”, sometimes nothing said is enough. he wasn’t invited back.

the way i heard it was, Hendry called Sandberg and told him Quade got the job. he thanked Sandberg and wished him well.

to me that’s firing the guy. then the mini fans uprising, then Hendry said Sandberg is welcomed back. Sandberg then declined a not honest, unwelcome welcome back.

Ace

Not to be too needy, but, to the extent any of you consider “sharing” things around the ‘net, I’d really appreciate it if you’d share this article. I put a lot of time and energy into it, so I wouldn’t hate it if more people saw it…

(and now those people are reading this comment and wondering why they bothered to read an article by someone so obviously needy and lame)

KB

That’s a pretty smart and well thought-out list. My only beef is the gimmicky thing of doing it alphabetically; people are accustomed to reading the most important parts first, and then seeing them unfold in a descending order of relevance, and this method doesn’t allow that.

I also worry that by focusing on several small instances of JH’s incompetency , you’re ignoring the elephant in the room; that the Cub’s payroll and money situation is almost every the same as the Red Sox, and thus they should be winning 95 games every year, and making the playoffs almost EVERY YEAR, like Boston. And the Cubs are not close to doing that. It’s about accountability, right? Someone has to take the blame for the Chicago’s miserable performance, and the GM is the guy.

Ace

Good points, though, technically, they’re both addressed by the Letter A.

KB

Believe it or not, I was going to mention that, and forgot. A was my favorite letter, because it’s kind of a summation.
Kudos to you for the whole thing.

jstraw

The way I like to turn “taking the blame” around is to call it “being responsible.” You can argue back and forth about blame but who denies that ultimately, the GM is responsible for the long term fortunes of the franchise. As a GM, Hendry has not been successful. Can anyone really argue otherwise?

KB

… the Cub’s payroll and money situation is almost EXACTLY the same as the Red Sox,

Is what I meant to say.

Good article, though, Ace. Please send this to Ricketts. Please.

Raymond Robert Koenig

Check out cubbiescrib.com and their article “What is The Doomsday Scenario”? I went back and forth with them about Hendry.

Jamesjones

Bravo. Another great read as always Mr. Ace. Lord knows this site is like therapy for me. Thank you.

Ace

Thanks, JJ.

Jerry McClellan

Interesting stuff. I don’t agree with everything but good stuff.

Ace

That’s all I’m shooting for. Thanks, Jerry.

Raymond Robert Koenig

It’s a good article, Ace. On another note, the Red Sox signed Millwood to a minor league deal.

Ace

Once again, my friend, you were scooped. See the “update” to the Millwood post (which update went up about two hours ago).

Deez

To Be Honest, I always held Hendry in high regard after 2003. I actually give him a pass on the big contracts because the Tribune Company was doing whatever they could to make this team look attractive to a buyer. He did what he had to do & we were 4 outs from the series, BUT it’s been downhill ever since that year.
I’m trying to give Quade a chance but he is horrible & a runover. He’s possibly doing whatever Hendry’s saying & it’s obviously not working. He looks like a deer caught in the headlights!
Sandberg paid his dues & right or wrong deserved a chance to manage this team.
I like the Garza trade but it’s going to come back & bite us in the ass because let’s face it, we’re not that good & we would have been better off served seeing what those youngsters got.
I don’t care how good a ClubHouse guy Pena may be, but to pay him that much to hit under .230, he’d better be a good clubhouse guy.
We only have one of our 1st Round Guys currently in the majors under the Hendry tenure & he’s on the DL!
The James Russell experience has truly soured my taste for Cubs Baseball. Why bring a guy out you know you can’t even get six good innings from!
We are so consistency inconsistent that the Ricketts better clean house!

Raymond Robert Koenig

No problem, Ace. I didn’t think the Cubs needed Millwood any way. The Red Sox also acquired Franklin Morales for a PTBNL.

One thing I noticed you didn’t have on your list was the Brian Roberts for Rich Hill and Felix Pie. Yes Roberts has had some injury problems and the O’s ended up with both Hill and Pie for pretty much nothing is reason enough for me to be added to the list.

Ace

Good point – the trades he didn’t make.

Rowan Campbell

I agree it is time Jim Hendry must go he has over stayed his welcome.
He hired Milton Bradley in 2009 to a 3 year deal and Kevin Gregg to be closer both bad decesions.
jIm Hendry also hired the wrong guy to be manager 24 and 13 in the final 37 games when the cubs were way out of contention.
Come on cubs need a new gm and manager for 2012.
Hendry likes to always sign veteran’s and doesnot trust the youngsters enough.
Hendry Must go.
May be Randy Bush should be gm he played on 2 world series championship teams so he must know what it takes to build a winning team.
I hope the Cubs are better in 2012.

Confederacy of Dunces

The clueless-frat-boy-Ricketts is more interested in taxpayer funding of schemes that include *Theme parks, skating rinks, apartment bldgs., hotels, parking garages, additional bleacher seating, signage, bars, and restaurants* than he is about the quality of the baseball team. Ricketts retained Hendry, Ricketts allowed Hendry to hire Quade, and together…Ricketts and Hendry…assembled this pathetic product. Ricketts’ clueless greed is the reason Cubs ticket prices are the highest in the NL. Every empty seat I see puts a smile on my face.

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